News

THE RACE

Aaron’s 312 at Talladega Superspeedway (2.66-mile superspeedway, Talladega, Ala.)
Saturday, May 3, 2014
 
THE RESULTS

The No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
Driiver: Ryan Blaney
Starting Position: 6
Finish Position: 21
Owner's Points Position: 3

THE RACE REVIEW

· Ryan Blaney qualified the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang in the sixth position for Saturday’s NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Talladega Superspeedway.

· At the beginning of the race, Blaney made a strong charge on the outside lane, pushing the No. 16 of Ryan Reed to the lead and slipping into second.

· Over the course of the first part of the event, Blaney would hold court in second.  He radioed into crew chief Jeremy Bullins the car had a slight vibration and, following the first pit stop, it was discovered the right front tire was showing cords.

· After falling back to sixth once again following a restart, Blaney once again pushed his way to second and would ride there during the middle portion of the race.

· Blaney was able to spend two laps at the front of the field, the first laps Blaney has led in the Nationwide Series this season.

· As the race began to wind down, Blaney made a move from the inside line to the outside line to try and advance his position and was able to move from seventh up to third.  However, the momentum the outside line had was quickly halted and Blaney fell back to eighth.

· On a restart with just five laps to go, Blaney found himself running third.  With a push from the No. 11 of Elliott Sadler, Blaney was able to rocket to the top spot.  However, the No. 11 car quickly moved to the inside of Blaney.  As the 20-year-old came back down the track to try and sidedraft off of the No. 11, the two made contact sending Blaney into the outside wall.  The damage was not terminal, but the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford had to make lengthy repairs.

· Blaney would lose a lap in the pits and would eventually limp his way around over the final few laps, finishing 21st.
    

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

RYAN BLANEY, NO. 22 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD MUSTANG

YOUR CAR RAN UP FRONT ALL DAY LONG, BUT YOU WEREN’T ABLE TO GET THE RESULT THAT YOU WANTED.

“Our Discount Tire Ford was really fast today. We had a car that could have won the race.  We were just trying to get ourselves in a position for the end.  I was able to get into second a couple of times during the day and just ride and log laps and learn some things.  We ended up getting hooked up with the 11 car and we worked really well together all day.  At the end of the race, we were going to work together and try to get to the front.  I made a move for the lead and he pushed me past the front guy, but I guess I left the bottom open because he went down low.  I tried to get back down there, but just got into him and it turned me right into the wall.  It was my mistake and I apologize to my team for that.  We had a good car and we weren’t able to get the finish we wanted.  That’s what you do in this type of racing though – you always go back and think about all of the things you could have done different.  But I’m really proud of the guys and the Discount Tire Ford they gave me.”